WPF Framework is a free and open-source .NET 10.0 application framework for building desktop project management applications, developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Risk Management Center (USACE-RMC). It provides a complete application shell with docking layout, project explorer, theme switching, undo/redo, and specialized controls for charting, databases, expression parsing, and directed acyclic graphs.
Note
This repository is under active development. Expect ongoing bug fixes and minor enhancements as the framework is prepared for broader public use.
| Platform | Version |
|---|---|
| .NET | 10.0 |
| OS | Windows 10+ |
WPF Framework can be consumed from source project references or packaged into NuGet bundles with scripts/pack-wpf-framework.ps1. The package layout follows the internal dependency map: Core, Models, Support, then Controls.
The framework depends on RMC.Numerics through central NuGet package management in Directory.Packages.props. Source builds restore RMC.Numerics 2.1.4; NuGet bundles declare compatibility with RMC.Numerics 2.1.4 or later, below 3.0.0.
| Folder | Projects | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Core | FrameworkInterfaces, Themes | Core contracts and theming engine |
| Controls | FrameworkUI, GenericControls, NumericControls, OxyPlotControls, DatabaseControls, ExpressionParserControls, DAGControls, Xceed.Wpf.AvalonDock, Xceed.Wpf.AvalonDock.Themes.VS2013 | Application shell, reusable WPF controls, and docking UI |
| Models | DatabaseManager, ExpressionParser, OxyPlot, OxyPlot.Wpf, OxyPlot.Wpf.Shared, DAG | Platform-agnostic model and engine libraries |
| Support | SoftwareUpdate, SoftwareUpdate.Updater | GitHub Releases-based auto-update system |
| Demos | FrameworkUI.Demo, GenericControls.Demo, NumericControls.Demo, OxyPlotControls.Demo, DatabaseControls.Demo, ExpressionParserControls.Demo, DAG.Demo | Interactive demo applications |
| Tests | OxyPlot.ExampleLibrary + 13 test projects | Example chart models and xunit, MSTest, and NUnit test suites |
| Packaging | RMC.Wpf.Framework.Core, RMC.Wpf.Framework.Models, RMC.Wpf.Framework.Support, RMC.Wpf.Framework.Controls | NuGet bundle projects |
- .NET 10.0 SDK
- Optional IDE: Visual Studio 2026 (18.0 or later), which supports targeting .NET 10
- Windows 10 or later
Run these commands from the repository root:
dotnet build WPF-Framework.sln
dotnet test WPF-Framework.sln.\scripts\pack-wpf-framework.ps1 -Configuration Release -Version 1.0.5This creates and validates the following NuGet packages in artifacts/packages/:
| Package | Includes | Depends on |
|---|---|---|
RMC.Wpf.Framework.Core |
FrameworkInterfaces, Themes | None |
RMC.Wpf.Framework.Models |
DAG, DatabaseManager, ExpressionParser, OxyPlot libraries | ClosedXML, DocumentFormat.OpenXml, ExcelNumberFormat, FastMember, SourceGear.sqlite3, System.Data.SQLite |
RMC.Wpf.Framework.Support |
SoftwareUpdate and updater content files | None |
RMC.Wpf.Framework.Controls |
FrameworkUI, control libraries, AvalonDock fork | Core, Models, Support, RMC.Numerics 2.1.4+ |
The shell requires an application-specific FrameworkInterfaces.IProject implementation and a concrete subclass of FrameworkUI.FrameworkUIController. The controller provides the project tree, menus, and document/property views; it is the value assigned to MainWindow.ProjectNode.
Use this helper from your WPF application's OnStartup override or Startup handler, on the UI thread. Omit StartupUri in App.xaml so WPF does not create a second window. Supply a factory that creates your controller around an initialized project. The factory runs after theme initialization because controllers can construct WPF controls.
public static class ShellStartup
{
public static FrameworkUI.MainWindow Show(
System.Func<FrameworkUI.FrameworkUIController> createProjectNode)
{
FrameworkUI.ThemeManager.SetTheme(FrameworkUI.ThemeColor.Light);
FrameworkUI.FrameworkUIController projectNode = createProjectNode();
var mainWindow = new FrameworkUI.MainWindow
{
ProjectNode = projectNode
};
System.Windows.Application.Current.MainWindow = mainWindow;
mainWindow.Show();
return mainWindow;
}
}Application.Current and the application's resource dictionaries must already exist. Merge the icon and control dictionaries used by your views into App.xaml; see the working demo resources. MainWindow restores the saved theme preference when it loads user settings, so that preference can override the initial Light theme.
Run FrameworkUI.Demo for a complete application. Its startup handler, project model, and project controller show the host implementations and initialization order.
Comprehensive documentation is available in the docs/ folder:
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Gallery | Screenshot guide to the framework control libraries |
| Getting Started | Step-by-step guide to building your first application |
| Architecture | Solution structure, dependencies, and design patterns |
| Themes | Runtime theme switching with Light, Dark, and Blue themes |
| Undo/Redo | Property and collection change tracking with undo support |
| Generic Controls | NumericTextBox, ColorPicker, CopyPasteDataGrid, and more |
| Numeric Controls | Distribution selectors, curve editors, and time series tables |
| OxyPlot Controls | Interactive charting with toolbar, property editors, and serialization |
| Database Controls | Table viewing, field calculation, and expression parsing |
| DAG Controls | Directed acyclic graph editing with visual flow canvas |
| Software Update | Automatic updates from GitHub Releases |
| Migration Guide | Upgrading from previous versions |
Three built-in themes support runtime switching through DynamicResource bindings. Call this on the UI thread of a running WPF application (for example, in a theme-menu handler):
FrameworkUI.ThemeManager.SetTheme(FrameworkUI.ThemeColor.Dark);This changes the active theme. It does not save a preference; the shell's Options dialog manages persisted theme settings.
Add the following field and property inside your concrete FrameworkInterfaces.ElementBase subclass, alongside its required constructor, metadata, and persistence members. RecordPropertyChange is a protected base-class method: it records the edit, raises PropertyChanged, and marks the element dirty when undo recording is enabled. No additional notification call is needed.
private string _customValue = string.Empty;
public string CustomValue
{
get => _customValue;
set
{
if (_customValue != value)
{
var oldValue = _customValue;
_customValue = value;
RecordPropertyChange(nameof(CustomValue), oldValue, value);
}
}
}Use the element's UndoManager.Undo() and UndoManager.Redo() to replay edits. Set IsUndoEnabled to false while loading data or applying untracked changes, then restore its previous value.
VS2013-style docking with tabbed documents, auto-hide panels, and floating windows powered by a vendored AvalonDock fork.
Vendored OxyPlot fork with a full toolbar (pan, zoom, annotation, export), property editors, theme integration, and XML serialization.
Multi-format database abstraction supporting SQLite, CSV, DBF, and in-memory tables with undo/redo edit tracking and Excel/CSV export.
Automatic update checking and staged installation from GitHub Releases with SemVer 2.0, SHA256 checksum validation, protected settings, transactional rollback, and safe replacement of the updater itself.
USACE-RMC is committed to maintaining and supporting WPF Framework with regular updates, bug fixes, and enhancements. The framework is under active development and serves as the shared foundation for our suite of desktop engineering applications.
The repository includes extensive unit tests across 13 test projects that also serve as usage examples for the classes and methods in the libraries.
WPF Framework powers the following USACE-RMC desktop applications:
- RMC-BestFit — Bayesian estimation and fitting for flood frequency analysis
- RMC-RFA — Reservoir frequency analysis for flood hazard assessments
- RMC-TotalRisk — Quantitative risk analysis for dam and levee safety
- LifeSim — Life loss consequence estimation and evacuation simulation
- RMC.Numerics - NuGet package for numerical computing, statistical analysis, and Bayesian inference (required dependency for NumericControls and DatabaseControls)
Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
This project is licensed under the Zero-Clause BSD (0BSD) license — a permissive license with no attribution or notice requirements. See LICENSE for details.